AP Television

Washington, DC - 24 January 2007

1. Pan view DC Car Show

2. Various energy efficient Toyota Prius

3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ed Barron, Washington DC resident:

"The American consumer will be forced into it. They are not going to cut their driving down but they will use less gasoline if they come up with alternative fuels."

4. Pull back view of hydrogen car

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jim Harvey (and wife Margot), Annapolis Maryland resident:

"Like most Americans we are a little bit spoilt and we are looking for luxury and something that has all the bells and whistles and that takes energy and it takes money. But you know we are willing to make some sacrifices to save some energy."

6. Close-up fuel cell car

ABC - No Access NAmerica/Internet

Wilmington, Delaware - 24 January 2007

7. Mid view of Bush on stage

8. SOUNDBITE: (English) George W. Bush, US President:

"Dependence on oil provides and economic and national security risk, a problem that this country better start dealing with in a serious fashion, now before it becomes acute."

9. Cutaway audience

10. SOUNDBITE: (English) George W. Bush, US President:

"You don't want your president sitting in the Oval Office worried about the activities of a hostile regime that can have all kinds of impacts on our security, starting with economic security. Dependence on oil, as well, means that if a terrorist were able to destroy infrastructure somewhere else in the world it's going to affect what you pay for at the gasoline pump."

Pool

Wilmington, Delaware - 24 January 2007

11. Tilt down view of Bush touring greenhouse

12. Close-up samples

13. Various Bush touring greenhouse

14. UPSOUND: (English) George W. Bush, US President:

"What our citizens got to know is that because of the research you're doing here, with some of their taxpayers' money to help you, that switchgrass which can be grown all across America could end up being the fuel that powers their automobiles. That's important."

AP Television

New York, New York - 24 January 2007

15. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ira Eckstein, Area International Trading Corp, at the Mercantile Exchange:

"We always hear about it but nothing really ever gets done. You know as far as conservation that is something we can do if they want to look at the gasoline - you know smaller cars or better efficiency - they could definitely do that. But as far as they are going to reinvent the wheel, I don't think so anytime soon."

AP Television

Washington, DC - 24 January 2007

16. SOUNDBITE: (English) Unidentified DC Motorist:

"Overall it was good, obviously we have to do something different. So he threw out some good proposals. We'll have to see how they sort themselves out and what the merit of them all are. At least it is something we can all start working on, sure."

17. Cutaway man filling fuel-efficient Prius

18. SOUNDBITE: (English) Brian Viola, from Ashburn, Virginia:

"I think it is a good plan, but my question is where was it eight years ago? You know six years ago when he came into office ... I mean we had the ability to do that then, but he was totally against it and now he is acting as if it is his first time and he came up with the idea yesterday."

19. Close-up petrol tank

American motorists reacted with interest, but scepticism on Wednesday, to US President George Bush's energy plan that targets their gas-guzzling habits.

President Bush, hoping for momentum from his State of the Union address, warned that the nation's reliance on oil poses a national security threat.

At DC's car show in Washington on Wednesday, visitors were treated to visions of fuel efficient cars of many makes.

Many agreed that fuel efficiency was desirable, but felt that American consumers might have to be forced to make changes to their fuel consumption.

President Bush campaigned on Wednesday in Delaware on his energy plan.

In a speech to employees of Dupont, one of the largest researchers of alternative fuels in the US, Bush said: "You don't want your president sitting in the Oval Office worried about the activities of a hostile regime that can have all kinds of impacts on our security, starting with economic security."

The president said, "dependence on oil, as well, means that if a terrorist were able to destroy infrastructure somewhere else in the world it's going to affect what you pay at the gasoline pump."

Bush's new energy initiative calls for reducing gasoline consumption by up to 20 percent over 10 years by increasing alternative fuels and raising fuel economy standards for cars.

In Delaware, Bush toured the DuPont Experimental Station to tout to its research on cellulosic ethanol, one of the main fuels Bush backs as an alternative to oil.

He took a hands-on approach as scientists walked him through the process of converting raw materials to fermentable sugars to fuel.

Bush picked up bottles of milled corn stover, poked his fingers into a beaker of wood chips and picked up a handful of switchgrass.

"What our citizens got to know is that because of the research you're doing here, with some of their taxpayers' money to help you, that switchgrass .... could end up being the fuel that powers their automobiles," Bush said in the DuPont greenhouse. "That's important."

DuPont is leading a science-based consortium that is researching how to break down entire corn plants, including the stalk and leaves, into biofuels, such as cellulosic ethanol.

Bush has rejected requiring automakers to boost the fuel economy of their new car fleets, and he continues to oppose mandatory reductions of so-called "greenhouse" gases.

With Democrats running Congress and his own popularity slumping, Bush had to offer a modest agenda in his State of the Union speech.

His energy plan, along with a health insurance programme, were the signature items.

Speaking from the New York Mercantile Exchange, Ira Eckstein, from the oil-trading firm Area International Trading Corporation, said many of the points in the President's speech had been made before.

Eckstein said fuel efficiency was not likely to affect the markets anytime soon.

More politically aware petrol consumers in Washington, DC watched President Bush's speech on Tuesday night - and had mixed reactions.

While some were pleased that President Bush had proposed any plan to deal with oil dependency, others said it should have been planned and acted upon years ago.